


Disappear

by Mythicaldemigod



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Mentions of Death, Sad, Spoilers, memorial, probably AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29590572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythicaldemigod/pseuds/Mythicaldemigod
Summary: "No one deserves to be forgottenNo one deserves to fade awayNo one should come and goAnd have no one know he was ever even here."The survivors put together a memorial every year for the friends they lost in the killing game. Makoto is always the speaker for it. The group mourns together.
Kudos: 5





	Disappear

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably canon divergent but I needed to write this in order to cope with it myself, tbh. So if this is super canon divergent just pretend this is an au.  
> Hope you guys enjoy anyway! (I am not responsible for any pain this may cause)

“They’re ready for you.”

A brown mess of hair shot up at the words, he’d been pacing the floor nervously, going over what he’d need to say. His companion stared back at him from her spot across the room, if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve said her face held no emotion. But he knew she was hiding her emotions. She was good at that.

“You don’t need to do this, Makoto,” she began. This felt like the hundredth time she’d said those words. She didn’t understand, he needed to do this. He was the face of hope, what kind of hope would he be if he couldn’t even do this?

Not to mention he owed it to each and every one of them…

“Go join the others, Kyoko, I’ll be fine.”

He meant it.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but there wasn’t much to be said once he’d set his mind on something. He could be even more stubborn than her. She wished him luck and left him to his own devices.

Makoto took a deep breath. It wasn’t the first deep breath he’d taken in his life, but it felt strange sometimes when he breathed so deeply. It felt wrong to be one of the few who was able to keep breathing like this when so many of them couldn’t. He adjusted his tie. It’d been a while since he'd had to dress up for an event, normally his hoodie sufficed just fine.

He took a deep breath, turning to follow Kyoko finally. Leaving them waiting any longer would be rude, he owed this to them.

He tried his best to not look out at all the people as he walked across to the makeshift podium they’d set up. He could do this. He had looked despair right in the face and managed to survive, he would be fine.

Finally, when he was ready, he looked out at everyone who had gathered to be here.

Kyoko was stood, she almost looked like a statue where she stood between Byakuya and Hina. On Hina’s right, stood Toko and on Byakuya’s left, Hiro. The normally cheery expressions his friends wore were startlingly somber.

They were looking at him, but he wasn’t sure if they were actually seeing him.

In front of him, faces of people he almost knew but couldn’t quite place. The faces of his dead friends but in living people, people he’d never really met before, but he felt like he knew even despite that.

“Thank you all for coming today,” his voice was shaky, you could hear a pin drop in the room, it was that silent. He cleared his throat again. There was nothing he could say that would make this better. Even after all this time, thinking about this was harder than anything else.

“We’re gathered here to celebrate the lives…” he swallowed. “Of those lost in the killing game.”

There was no response in the room, and he took that as his cue to continue.

“Sayaka Maizono. Leon Kuwata. Chihiro Fujisaki. Mondo Owada. Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Hifumi Yamada. Celestia Ludenberg. Sakura Ogami. Headmaster Kirigiri,” as he said the last one, he looked up to see Kyoko’s reaction. She was as stoic as ever.

It felt wrong to read their names from a list like this. That was all they had left now, memories, ghosts of people who had so much potential. It wasn’t fair that so many had to lose their lives so he could stand up here.

The rest of the memorial wasn’t memorable. He said his usual spiel, he could recite what Kyoko had written for him verbatim by now. It was just easier to have a cookie cutter response then have to delve into emotions every time they did this. He was sorry for everyone’s loss, they were wonderful people, he missed his classmates… He was wrapping up his speech, ready to retreat, wrap himself up and avoid his friends until the next day, when something clicked in him.

He raised his head, gazing out on the people who were gathered in front of him.

“It’s a tragedy that they no longer stand among us,” he said, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. “But they are with us. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? They brought us together, they never really left. They’re still alive, maybe not in a conventional way, maybe not in the way we wish they were. I think of Sayaka every time I sing a song in the shower, Chihiro whenever I’m struggling with something techy… When I’m tired and want to give up, I can hear Mondo’s voice asking me if I’m weak.”

He opened his eyes again, looking around. He hadn’t even heard the sniffles, but he realized people were wiping tears away.

“They left us too soon, I can’t change that fact,” he shook his head. “But I live each day for them.”

He stared out above the heads for a moment trying to picture his dead friends, the headmaster. He nodded to the crowd, stepping away from the podium. He couldn’t be here anymore. He only just managed to make it to the safety of cover before the tears started. He fell to his knees; he didn’t have the strength to stand anymore. A hand rested on his back and he choked out a sob.

“You told them, Naegi,” Byakuya said gently.

“That was beautiful, dude,” Hiro added.

Hina didn’t even speak, she wrapped her arms around her friend, burying her face in his neck. Kyoko and Toko watched the others interact from the side.

The six sit in silence, the only sound that of Makoto’s choked sobs.


End file.
